Garage-door-actuating means



'r. MQINERNEY GARAGE noon ACTUATING MEANS Filed Nov. 5. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 5,-1927., 1,634,954

T. M INERNEY- GARAGE DOOR AGCIUA'IING' MEANS July 5, 1927. 1,634,954

Filed Nov. 5. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 53 I 5 guvcnl lil I W Mos Patented July 5, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GAKAGE-DOOB-ACTUA'I'ING MEANS.

Application ma ll'ovember a, 1925. Serial at. 07,009.

My present invention pertains to means for opening and closing garage doors. and it has for its general object the provision of inexpensive and easily installed means for automatically bringing about the opening of garage doors precedent to the passage of an automobile through a doorway, and for closing the doors when the automobile 1s clear of the same, the weight of the automobile being utilized to control and put in operation the means for opening the doors. and the means for closing the doors being put into operation by the movement of the automobile away from the doorway.

To the attainment of the foregoing, the invention consists in the improvement as hereinafter described and definitely claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification Figure 1 is a front elevation illustrating garage doors equipped with the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the same, looking downwardly.

Figure 3 is a view diagrammatic in character and showing certain working parts and the electric connections.

Figure 4 is a detail vertical section taken through the depressible platform and showing said platform in connection with the parts with which it cooperates.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken m the plane indicated by the line 55 of Figure 4. looking downwardly.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings.

In the embodiment illustrated the doors 1 are of swinging type, and are hinged at the points 2 so as to move in a horizontal plane. Fixedly connected to the faces of the doors 1 and extending above the doors are uprights 2. the upper ends of which are connected through ball and socket joints with inwardly extending link rods 3 that terminate at their inner ends in pendent toes 4. The said toes 4 are seated in eyes 5 on rack bars designated 6 and 7, respectively. The

a rack bar 6 is provided at 8 and 9 with protuberances, located adjacent to the ends of the rack bar and designed to cooperatewlth the members 8, 9 of jack swltches, Figure 3. the complementary members of which are designated 8' and 9. respectively. The switch member or terminal 9 is electrically connected through a conductor 10 with a terminal 11. and the switch member or terminal 8 is connected through a conductor 12 with a terminal 13. At 14 is an electric motor of reversible type. and connected with the armature shaft of the said motor 14 is a spur gear 15 in mesh with the teeth of the rack bars 6 and 7 for the translation of the latter. The member or terminal 8 is connected through a conductor 16 with the motor 14, and the terminal or switch member 9 is also connected with the motor 14 by a conductor 17. A source of electric energy is designated by 18. and it will be noted that one side of the said source of energy 18 is connected through a conductor 19 with the motor 14. the conductor 19 being also provided with a branch lead 20 to the motor 14. In the preferred embodiment of my invention. a .worm gear meshed with a worm is interposed between the armature shaft of the motor and the spur gear 15 so that the doors will be self-locking.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that outward endwise movement of the rack bars 6 and 7 will be attended by swinging of the doors 1 to open position, and that endwise inward movement of the said rack bars will be attended by inward swinging movement of the doors 1, i. e., the movement of said doors to closed position.

The side of the source of electric energy 18 opposite to that before mentioned is connected through a conductor with an electric switch 31. the point of which is movable between and adapted to contact with the terminals 11 and 13. Figure 3. It will also be readily understood from Figure 3 that the said switch 31 is provided with lever arms and that to one of said arms is connected a weight 32 gravitation of which will put the switch point in contact with the terminal 13. and will yieldingly maintain the switch point in said position. At is a cable. and it will be readily understood that downward pull on the said cable will bring about rocking of the switch 31 so as to move the point thereof into contact with the terminal 11. See dotted lines in Figure 3. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention the cable 40 is connected as best shown in Figure 5 with one arm 41 of a lever having two other arms 42. The arms 42 are connected through cables 43 with levers 44, Figures 4 and 5, fulcrumed at 45 and having their outer arms provided with points 46, disosed under and adapted to be depressed y saddles 47 at the underside of a platform 48. The platform 48, as best shown in Figure 2, is arranged at one side of the door way and in position to be traversed by wheels at one side of an automobile moving through the doorway.

It will be noted from the foregoing that with the platform 48 of suflicient length, the depression of the said platform 48 by an automobile approaching the garage, will be attended by opening of the doors 1 in front of the automobile. This will be readily understood when it is stated that the said depression of the platform 48 brings about the movement of the point of the switch 31 into contact with the terminal 11. When this condition is established current will pass from one side of the source of electric energy through the conductor 19 to the motor 14, for the movement of the rack bar 6 toward the left in Figure 3, and the movement of the rack bar 7 toward the right, the doors being moved in the same general directions as their respective rack bars. For the opening of the doors 1, the current will pass from the motor 14 through the conductor 16, the switch member 8, the switch member 8, and the conductor 12, terminal 11, switch 31, and conductor 30 back to the opposite side of the source of energy. The said movements of the rack bars 6 and 7 and the doors 1 will continue until the protuberance 8 on the rack bar 6 engages the switch member 8 and raises the same out of engagement with theswitch member 8*, when the circuit will be interrupted and the motor will stop. Manifestly when the doors 1 are open, the switch member 9 will be in contact with the switch member 9*. Therefore, when the automobile passes off the platform 48 and the gravitation of the weight 32 moves the switch oint 31 into engagement with the terminal 13 as shown by full lines in Fig ure 3, current will pass from the motor 14 through the conductor 17, the switch member 9", the switch member 9 the conductor 10, the terminal 13, the switch 31 and the conductor 30 to one side of the source of energy, the opposite side of said source ofi energy being at that time connected with the motor 14 through the conductor 19. When on the movement of the rack bar 6 toward the right, the protuberance 9 on the said rack bar engages the switch member 9, the said switch member 9 will be moved out of contact with the member 9,- and hence operation of the motor will be sto ped. Iii will be readily appreciated from the foregoing that my improvement is simple and inexpensive in construction, is reliable in operation, aud'is well adapted to withstand the usage to which apparatus connected with doors and "ates is ordinarily subjected; and it will zilsobe appreciated that for its proper operation my improvement requires no attention from the automobile driver save that he sees that the wheels at oneside of the automobile traverse the platform 48 in the direction of thelength of i said platform.

As shown in Figure 1 each door. has a hand lever 60, connected at 61 with the respective upper link 3 of the door, whereby said link may be lifted out of en agement with its respective rack bar as w en it is desired to put the improved mechanism out of commission. I have specifically described the construction and relative arrangement of the parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of my invention in order to im part an understanding of said embodiment in all of its details. I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to the structure and arrangement of parts as disclosed, my invention bein defined by my appended claims within t e scope of W ich modifications in the structure and arrangement may be made without departure from my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s:

1. Door opening and closing means comprising rack bars connected with and adapted to transmit motion to doors, one of the said rack bars being provided with protuberances, an electric motor for actuating said bars, a source of electric energy, aek switches arranged in a normally open circuit with the motor and source of energy and having members arranged to directly cooperate with the protuberances. of said rack bar, and means for closing the circuit; the connections between the rack bars and the doors each made of an upright fixed to and spaced from the door, and a link interposed between and loosely connected to a rack bar and the upper portion of said upright.

2. Door opening and closing means comprising rack bars connected with and adapted to transmit motion to doors, one of the said rack bars being provided with protuberances, an electric motor for actuatin said bars, a source of electric energy, jack swltches arranged in a normally open circuit with the motor and source of energy and havin members disposed to directly cooperate, with the protuberances. of said rack bar, and

III

means for closing the circuit; the conneelever and a link interposed between and contions between the rack bars and the doors nected with said hand lever and one of the each comprising an upright fixed to and first-named links for detaching said first spaced from one door, and a link connected named from its respective rack bar, for the 5 to the upper portion of said upright and depurpose set forth.

tachably connect-ed to one of the rack bars, In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. .and each door being equipped with a hand THOMAS MOINERNEY. 

